Nobel Peace Prize: UK health and science organisations applaud nuclear ban treaty

A joint statement by Medact, the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, and Scientists for Global Responsibility welcoming the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) and the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize for ICAN. The organisations argue that nuclear weapons are indiscriminately destructive, that no meaningful medical response to a detonation is possible, and that even limited use would cause global climate damage and mass starvation. They urge the British Government to sign the TPNW and engage in multilateral discussions to eliminate nuclear weapons.

• The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), adopted in July 2017, is the first international law to make nuclear weapons illegal and provides a framework for their total elimination.
• Scientific evidence indicates that no medical response can effectively address the effects of a nuclear detonation, which causes indiscriminate death through blast, heat, and radiation, as well as long-term genetic damage and chronic diseases.
• The use of a small portion of existing nuclear weapons would cause severe damage to global food production and the climate, potentially leading to the starvation of billions of people.
• The risk of nuclear war by mistake or miscalculation is heightened by the existence of 1,800 US and Russian warheads that are ready to fire with decision times of only tens of minutes.

APA

Scientists for Global Responsibility (n.d.). Nobel Peace Prize: UK health and science organisations applaud nuclear ban treaty. https://www.sgr.org.uk/sites/default/files/Nobel+TPNW-stmt-SGR+Medact+CIEH.pdf

Chicago

Scientists for Global Responsibility. Nobel Peace Prize: UK health and science organisations applaud nuclear ban treaty. n.d. https://www.sgr.org.uk/sites/default/files/Nobel+TPNW-stmt-SGR+Medact+CIEH.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Scientists for Global Responsibility |title=Nobel Peace Prize: UK health and science organisations applaud nuclear ban treaty |url=https://www.sgr.org.uk/sites/default/files/Nobel+TPNW-stmt-SGR+Medact+CIEH.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{scientistsforglobalresponsibilityndnobel, author = {{Scientists for Global Responsibility}}, title = {{Nobel Peace Prize: UK health and science organisations applaud nuclear ban treaty}}, publisher = {Scientists for Global Responsibility}, url = {https://www.sgr.org.uk/sites/default/files/Nobel+TPNW-stmt-SGR+Medact+CIEH.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }